The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fanmade productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows.

In this edition, take an extensive tour of the real locations used to shoot National Lampoon’s Vacation. Plus, learn about the long, troubled road to get Jurassic Park 3 off the ground in 2001, and see Stranger Things in a whole different light thanks to some bad lip reading. Read More »

There’s a lot to love about George Miller’s Best Picture nominated action adventure Mad Max: Fury Road. Every facet of the film is impressive, but undoubtedly one of the coolest elements of the film are the post-apocalyptic vehicles that all the characters right around in. There are classic hot rods turned into fast-moving tanks, semi-trucks turned into death machines in eighteen wheels, and that vehicle with the Doof Warrior that is essentially a mobile metal concert from a Dr. Seuss nightmare.

But what if a bunch of other famous vehicles from film and television got a Mad Max makeover? What would cars like the DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future, the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo or even the staircase truck from Arrested Development look like if they were modified to look like vehicles from the Wasteland? Illustrator Scott Park has answers to all those questions and plenty more with a cool new set of drawings that you can check out after the jump. Read More »

This week, a reboot of National Lampoon’s Vacation hit theaters, but without the National Lampoon name attached. Of course, the comedy namesake’s former magazine editor P.J. O’Rourke seems perfectly fine with that, saying in a guest column at THR that the new take on Vacation is “a summer cineplex dump-fill featuring the Hangover wimp dentist as leading man” and judging by the trailer contains “obvious, pitiful, frenetic, stupid raunchiness.” Yeah, he’s not a fan.

Frankly, I found the Vacation reboot to be amusing and enjoyable. It has a bit of a sloppy script as far as story progression is concerned, but there are some very big laughs, a few great running gags, solid references to the original movie, and a fantastic performance from Ed Helms, who channels Chevy Chase and his charming naivete the whole way through.

But I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t find looking back at the original Vacation, and at least one of the sequels, more entertaining. And that’s exactly what I did when I compiled this collection of the 16 Best Scenes from the National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise.

See the whole list of National Lampoon’s Vacation best scenes after the jump! Read More »

Summer may almost be over, but the latest road trip with the Griswold family in Vacation doesn’t begin until next week. Ed Helms plays a grown up Rusty Griswold, taking his wife (Christina Applegate) and their two sons on a trip in order to help bring them closer together, just like when he was a kid.

Now a final NSFW red band trailer makes one last attempt to get audiences on board the new family truckster for a trip that is more raunchy and rowdy than any of the preceding National Lampoon titles. This isn’t the best trailer for the movie, but it does have some amusing moments, especially from then new Griswold kids.

Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California has announced that they will be closing their iconic roller coaster Colossus on August 16th 2014 after more than 36 seasons of operation. The wooden coaster has been in operation for 36 years, and has appeared in many television shows and movies.

The roller coaster was featured in the opening credit sequence of the TV series Step By Step (the Lambert-Foster family rides Colossus) and in National Lampoon’s Vacation as the Walley World roller coaster called Screemy Meemy (although it should be noted that it was not the main metal roller coaster which appeared in this sequence of the film, that coaster is the Magic Mountain Revolution).

The coaster was also featured on tv episodes of Wild & Crazy Kids, Doogie Howser, M.D., Knight Rider, Wonder Woman, and The A-Team. It appeared in other films like the 1982 teen film sex comedy Zapped! starring Scott Baio.Read More »

Honestly, we might never see a better summer than 1982. Almost every single weekend, Hollywood released a would be classic: The Thing, Blade Runner, E.T., the list goes on and on. And when something is that successful, what does Hollywood do? Release a sequel, of course. That’s exactly what the Alamo Drafthouse is doing this summer.

After last year’s successful Summer of ’82 screening series, this year will mark the Summer of 1983 screening series. Starting with the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi, the Drafthouse’s various locations will screen movies such as Scarface, Risky Business, Octopussy, The Deadly Spawn, WarGames, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Jaws 3D and others.

Below, find out how to get tickets, see the poster and watch a trailer. Read More »

New Line is putting off its Vacation plans for now. The studio has pumped the brakes on the upcoming National Lampoon reboot/sequel, which was on track to shoot this summer, as it sorts out some creative differences over MPAA ratings.

It’s unclear how long the delay will take, but for now all of the talent remains attached. Writers Jonathan Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are set to make their directorial debut on the film, with Ed Helms and Christina Applegate in the lead roles.

Who wants to take a road trip this summer? Apparently, John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, and Ed Helms do. Vacation writer-directors Daley and Goldstein have revealed their plans to shoot their National Lampoon sequel in Atlanta and New Mexico this summer, with Helms playing the lead role of Rusty Griswold. More casting is expected to follow shortly. Hit the jump to keep reading.

We’ve got a hodgepodge of new images after the jump, including set photos from Robocop and The Wolverine, stills from Hitchcock and Beautiful Creatures, and even a snapshot of the National Lampoon’s Vacation cast, reunited.

Much like the old school VH1 TV show, Gallery 1988 is having the best week ever. Their Melrose location currently has the amazing Return of the Great Showdowns exhibit on the walls and this coming Friday, September 28, their Venice location opens an insanely clever and cool exhibit by popular pop artists Tom Whalen and Dave Perillo.

The show is called Around the World In An ’80s Daze and is comprised of travel posters for locations from famous ’80s films and TV shows. Stuff like The Terminator, Caddyshack, Vacation, A Nightmare on Elm Street or Thundercats. Opening 7 p.m. September 28 at Gallery 1988 Venice, Around the World In An ’80s Daze remains on display through October 20.

While each artist has already revealed a few posters to tease the fans, /Film is proud to debut three new posters each for this super exciting show. Check them out after the jump. Read More »